Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Our Top Picks for The 2015 Tribeca Film Festival

It's CONVENTION SEASON!! ..and FILM FEST SEASON!! ...and calling it a season is sort of ridiculous, as, these days, the "season" doesn't end til November. As we prepare to dive head first into the eclectic film schedule of the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, we take a few moments to go over the films we are most interested in so you can glue them firmly onto your radar and keep watch for some sort of release. Here's the (potentially) good stuff...

ALL WORK ALL PLAY
Directed By: Patrick Creadon - There’s something happening in the world of video games. Thousands are flocking to arenas to watch tournaments unfold. Tens of millions are watching online. One percent of the world population is playing the most popular competitive game. In All Work All Play, go behind the scenes and follow the ascent of eSports, and watch as the best pro gamers in the world fight for the Intel Extreme Masters championship.

APPLESAUCE
Directed By: Onur Tukel - TFF alumnus Onur Tukel plays a husband who innocently reveals on talk radio the worst thing he's ever done. Though his gaffe never makes it on air, it sets off a chain of hilariously uncontrollable events that draw his wife and another couple into an uneasy mixture of infidelities, confessions, and severed body parts.

BACKTRACK
Directed By: Michael Petroni - In this spine-tingling supernatural thriller, troubled psychotherapist Peter Bowers (Adrien Brody) is suffering from nightmares and eerie visions. When he uncovers a horrifying secret that all of his patients share, he is put on a course that takes him back to the small hometown he fled years ago. There he confronts his demons and unravels a mystery 20 years in the making.

BODYSLAM: REVENGE OF THE BANANA!
Directed By: Ryan Harvie and John Paul Horstmann - Ronald McFondle, Eddie Van Glam, and other social outcasts made up the Seattle Semi-Pro (SSP) Wrestlers, an off-kilter family of cabaret fighters that spoofed the pros. When a newcomer Paul, The Banana, fell on the wrong end of the joke, he ran to the government to disband the SSP. Bodyslam: The Revenge of the Banana! captures the wrestlers’ fight to keep the theatrics alive.

THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES
Directed By: Michael Winterbottom - Cinema's prolific writer/director Michael Winterbottom and comedian/provocateur Russell Brand join forces in this polemical expose about inequality and the financial crisis. From London to New York the film combines documentary style, archive footage and comedy to explore how the crisis has gravely affected the 99% and only benefited the 1%.

GOOD KILL
Directed By: Andrew Niccol - Major Tommy Egan (Ethan Hawke) is fighting a war from the safety of a Nevada trailer, but commitment to the mission comes at a price. Gattaca director Andrew Niccol reunites with Ethan Hawke for this timely drama about the human costs of advanced war technology. Co-starring January Jones and Zoe Kravitz. An IFC Films Release.

KURT COBAIN: MONTAGE OF HECK
Directed By: Brett Morgen - Kurt Cobain remains an icon 20 years after his death. HBO’s Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck is the first fully authorized documentary, a raw and visceral journey through Cobain’s life and career with Nirvana through the lens of his home movies, recordings, artwork, photography, and journals.

LIVE FROM NEW YORK!
Directed By: Bao Nguyen - A New York institution and comedy powerhouse, Saturday Night Live has been churning out hilarious sketches and launching top comedy talent for 40 years. In honor of the occasion, director Bao Nguyen looks back at the show’s history, influence, and most memorable moments.

MAGGIE
Directed By: Henry Hobson - There's a deadly zombie epidemic threatening humanity, but Wade (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a small-town farmer and family man, refuses to accept defeat even when his daughter Maggie (Abigail Breslin) becomes infected. As Maggie's condition worsens and the authorities seek to eradicate those with the virus, Wade is pushed to the limits in an effort to protect her. Joely Richardson co-stars in this post-apocalyptic thriller. Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions release.

MAN UP
Directed By: Ben Palmer - When perpetually single Nancy (Lake Bell) is mistaken for a charming stranger’s (Simon Pegg) blind-date, she just goes with it, leading to a series of escalating adventures for the two mismatched lovebirds in Ben Palmer’s hilarious romantic comedy.

MOJAVE
Directed By: William Monahan - William Monahan’s second feature, starring Oscar Isaac and Garrett Hedlund, is a delirious trip from the fringes of the desert to the center of the film industry. Armed with little more than a knife and two handles of vodka, an on-edge Hollywood director sets out to the Mojave Desert, where he finds a drifter brandishing a rifle and claiming to be the Devil.

MONTY PYTHON: THE MEANING OF LIVE
Directed By: Roger Graef and James Rogan - While perhaps best known for its eminently quotable films, Monty Python has performed its signature, surreal humor in live shows since the group’s earliest days. Dive into the history of Python’s stage work and the genesis of some of its most well-known pieces as they prepare for their last-ever live show. Monty Python: the Meaning of Life is a hilarious and illuminating survey of the process behind the Python.

ORION: THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING
Directed By: Jeanie Finlay - Millions of Americans clung to the hope that Elvis Presley faked his death. For the executives at Sun Records that fantasy became an opportunity in the form of Orion, a mysterious masked performer with the voice of The King. But who was the man behind the mask? In this stranger-than-fiction true story, Jeanie Finlay explores a life led in service to those who couldn't let Elvis go.

RIFFTRAX LIVE: THE ROOM
The brainchild of Mystery Science Theater 3000 alumnus Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy (aka Tom Servo), and Bill Corbett (aka Crow T. Robot), Rifftrax skewers cult classic films with hilarious live commentary. For their first-ever New York performance the Rifftrax gang will unleash their signature comedic chops on Tommy Wiseau's modern masterpiece, The Room, for a one-night-only live cinema event.

STUNG
Directed By: Benni Diez - For catering staffers Paul and Julia, Mrs. Perch’s fancy garden party at her remote country villa is nothing out of the ordinary. A mishap with toxic plant fertilizer leads to the most unwelcome of dinner guests: giant killer wasps. Director Benni Diez takes audiences on a thrilling, gory rollercoaster ride from campy to creepy, in this delightful and dreadful creature-feature.

Check out the complete Tribeca Film Festival Film Guide HERE and make your plans to catch some of these great movies! The festival runs April 15th through the 26th.

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